Things happen

Where in the world is this?

Things Happen

Does one really need to ask where this is? This is so “Hong Kong” that it would be difficult to place this scene anywhere else but in Hong Kong. I say this because, this is the Hong Kong I know.

Now, having said that, my “Hong Kong” is not always going to be the same as anyone else’s “Hong Kong”.

Philosophy of Photography

This sort of touches on the “philosophy of photography” thing, the whole “decisive moment” thing, “mirrors and windows” and whatever else can be hauled out of that bucket of thoughts and thinking.

I don’t always know what I do and I don’t always know why I do what I do. It just happens – as in the case of this particular image.

I was out looking for something else. In the process, I was about to take a short cut down a lane to a nearby high street. As I turned into the lane, I came across this fellow squatting on the steps and hammering away at a wok. “This is weird”, were my first thoughts. With that, I lifted up the camera and started photographing the scene before me. And, as they say, “the rest fell into place”.

Has this image been “cooked”? Of course it’s been cooked. Living in the digital age, what else would you expect? If I was shooting on film, be it in black and white, colour transparency or colour negative then, the resulting image would be a by-product of that imagining material and associated processes. 

With digital, much the same applies. In this case, using the available software tools to suit and serve the purpose – as in creating and/or finishing off an image.

That said, not much has done to this image. There’s very little cropping, little in the way of any adjustment and, above all, no directing. This image is, as it happened.

In my digital workflow I usually use Nik Software via Photoshop CS6 to finish off my images. In this instance, I used two filters in Color Efex Pro. And, that’s just about it.

Things happen. Enjoy…